The custom home business is operating in a new environment. Today’s home buyer is savvier than ever, thanks to home design television shows and magazines and the plethora of product information on the Internet.
As a result, you must work harder than ever to fulfill clients’ desires. Focus your efforts on several key areas:
Build unbreakable rapport. Rapport building never ends. It transcends every step of the custom home building process, from the sale to after move-in. The deeper your customer connects to you, the more you earn the right to close the deal.
Ask insightful questions. Perceptive and astute questions will give you an understanding of the customers’ needs. Relate your questioning directly to their wants, fears, joys, and motivations. Then address the issues that will lead your customers to trust you with their business.
Listen with intuition. Set aside your own personal agenda when listening to a prospect and give your full focus and attention. What are his or her real concerns? Many salespeople have a “rebuttal mentality,” that is, they are thinking of the next thing to say or do to make the sale. When you are present in the moment, the correct answers and responses will come from your experience.
Reply with meaningful responses. When answering questions, demonstrating a product, or negotiating a deal, give concise and significant answers; stick to the issues at hand and be thorough with your replies. It will demonstrate your expertise and your ability to handle a big custom home project.
Validate your prospect. All prospective customers have a story that contains their buying preferences, their wish list, their expectations, their demands, and their negotiating points. When you validate each part of their story, you confirm their trust in you.
Get it in writing. A close is only as good as the contract that supports it. All of your conversations, negotiations, promises, disclosures, processes, and services are irrelevant until the document is signed. Ultimately, when you have genuinely paid attention to detail throughout the entire sales process, the client will be happy to sign your contract.
If your closing ratios are less than desirable, ask yourself this tough question: “Have I really earned the right to close the deal?”
Paul Montelongo has been a builder for more than 23 years and is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant to the construction industry. Visit Paul at www.paulmontelongo.com.
